Introduction
With early exposure to pharmacy through his father’s work, Joseph P. Navarra, R.Ph., FACA, FAPC, developed a strong connection to the profession from a young age. After beginning college on a different path, he ultimately found his calling in pharmacy—blending patient care, entrepreneurship, and advocacy. Today, he’s a respected leader in the field, shaping the future of pharmacy through his work in compounding and service to the profession.
Why Pharmacy
I had been working in the pharmacy arena since i was about 5 years old. My father is also a pharmacist, so I had exposure to the profession from a young age. I actually didn't realize it was something that I wanted to do until after I started college.
Career Journey
I actually started out studying veterinary medicine but then realized I enjoyed pharmacy and transferred to St. John's University to pursue a pharmacy degree. My first pharmacist job was working with my father in a full service pharmacy home care agency for about 19 years. After we sold that I went out on my own and opened the compounding center.
Current Role and Responsibilities
Well, being an owner that can be just about anything! I am very involved with the profession on a local and national level. I am the Current Past Board Chair of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, the national advocacy association that fights for the profession. I am a current Board member of the New York City Pharmacists Society and I am also the Past President of the Pharmacist's Society of the State of New York.
So, my typical day can look like anything from a number of meetings to doing some work in my lab. At this point I am more concentrated on the higher level business growth part of my business and not the actual day to day activates. I have a great staff that takes care of that for me.
Challenges
Every business has challenges, sometimes on a daily basis. Navigating regulation has always been on the top of the challenges for pharmacy in general. We have to deal with not only local and state regulations, but also federal regulations. If you are licensed in multiple states, then you have to be on top of those regulations per state also. When it comes to compounding there are many rules and regulations you need to follow to ensure that you are providing the best possible product and solution for you patients. We need to navigate many agencies and laws to make sure we are in compliance across the board.
Rewards
This might sound cliche, but it is helping my patients have access to medication that they can not obtain anywhere else. We have the ability to customize dosage forms and doses for patients that would not otherwise be able to take medication. This is especially important for pediatric patients. Professionally, being the Board Chair of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding and representing this profession has certainly been a highlight of my career.
In fact, when I was the Board Chair of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, I had the opportunity to be able to speak with a number of media outlets on TV, online, and in the newspapers. This gave me the opportunity to make sure that the media told the correct story of compounding, the positive effects that is has for our patients and ability to make sure the record was set straight on how important this aspect of the profession is.
Work/Life Balance
Like anything else, life is a balance in general. There is always give and take in anything we do to be able to be successful. There are times I need to put in more hours for my business, be that at the lab or at home. But you always have to make time for everything else. I have to make sure there is time to have dinner with my family. Time to be able to go to the gym. Time for vacations. Everyday can be a different balance, it is about the long haul. To some it may not seem like there is balance on a daily basis but there is balance over time.
Advice for Students and Aspiring Professionals
Pharmacy is a huge profession. There are so many avenues that you can pursue for your career and you may not only take one path before you get to your final stop. Keep an open mind on the different aspects of pharmacy and talk to as many different pharmacists in different settings that you can.
One thing you can do is diversify your APPE rotations when you need to pick them. This can help you not only see settings that you may like, but can also rule out settings that would not be a fit for you.
Join your state pharmacy organization and a national organization that may fit the career setting that you seek. This will give you great networking opportunities to talk to other pharmacist doing this for a long time and may also give you ability to put you in front of people that can give you a job.